This year's dividend at Czech utility ČEZ is likely to hit a record

Key facts about the dividend paid by energy company ČEZ (the company’s annual general meeting is being held today; among other things, it will approve the financial statements for last year and the distribution of profit):

– This year’s dividend from energy company ČEZ will be a record, whether the company’s board proposal to pay out 80 percent of profit, or 117 Kč per share, is approved, or the proposal from the state as the largest shareholder, which wants to pay out all of the profit, or 145 Kč per share. The most ČEZ has paid shareholders so far was for 2009, when the gross dividend was 53 Kč per share, equivalent to around 55 percent of profit.

– Last year, ČEZ also reported a record profit of 80.7 billion Kč, compared with 9.9 billion Kč the year before. Its previous highest net profit was 51.9 billion Kč, achieved in 2009. According to the energy company, the significant increase in profit reflects the enormous rise in prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, record profits from commodity trading on foreign markets, and the high operational reliability of ČEZ power plants.